Why Geography Education Matters for Global Understanding?

Abstract

Global problems can only be solved with global approaches, affordances, and resources. Instead, we have a world retreating from global approaches and moving to adopt nationalistic, local-scale policies. Many different international, regional, and national initiatives have tried to tackle global problems by raising awareness that global understanding is a key issue. Geography, better than any other discipline, can explore the spatial relationships of social and physical phenomena at diverse scales and suggest solutions to significant and persistent problems. Therefore, geography education in primary and secondary schools has a tremendous potential to provide the next generation with the understanding, attitudes, and behaviors required to work for solutions to global problems. The year 2016 was declared International Year of Global Understanding. This chapter introduces a book, aimed at teachers, researchers, and policy-makers, on the ways primary and secondary (K-12) geography education can promote and develop global understanding. The book addresses three essential questions: (1) How can geographic knowledge and skills prepare us to understand and take positive action about global issues?; (2) How can the practices of geography empower members of societies and equip them with necessary global understanding?; and (3) What are the similarities and dissimilarities between the different countries and regions of the world in terms of the implementation of global understanding through curriculum and best practices in geography education?